For Indian troops in IHK suicide is a common end

Tacstrat

A recent report issued by the Indian Defence Ministry has indicated that around 780 Indian troops have committed suicide since 2005 in Indian Held Kashmir.

According to KMS, a study conducted by two Indian psychiatrists shows that 38.56 per cent of Indian forces are schizophrenic, 14.17 per cent suffer from alcohol dependence syndrome and 9.8 per cent are struggling with depression.

Experts are of the opinion that the growing numbers are due to the rigors of dealing with protesters in occupied Kashmir and the remote northeast. The Indian troops have mainly been used for guarding restive borders, quelling civil riots and rescuing operations during natural calamities such as floods, cyclones and earthquakes.

Analysts believe that Indian forces are under tremendous stress, which is a result of low morale, bad service conditions, insufficient home leave and low pay.

Sheikh Showkat, a political analyst, told newsmen that the troops were over-stretched by continuously being in the field with hostile conditions.

"They are not able to go and see their families. They are living in areas where people do not perceive them to be their own people. All this has landed the troopers to psychological stress. The psychological stress makes them go for killing each other or committing suicide," he added.

Not Such a Super Power

By Ahsan Waheed

Tacstrat

The discovery of a very large consignment of adult pampers in a consignment meant for US troops in Afghanistan has led to laughter all around especially among their hosts---the Afghans. Apparently the pampers are used by troops so that they do not have to get out of their bunkers at night and so that they are not caught in vulnerable positions by enemies lurking all around them.

Earlier a video had surfaced showing US Marines urinating on the corpses of Taliban fighters. Such desecration is particularly repugnant to Islam and such treatment of the enemy dead is seen as cowardly and immoral. The US has indicated that the Marines involved in such shameful behavior have been identified. Even if they are punished the damage is done because it shows a mind set and reflects poorly on discipline and training of US personnel. There was also the much publicized case of Western troops cutting off body parts of dead Taliban to take home as trophies. This had sent a surge of hatred and violence not just in Taliban ranks but all Afghans---even those forced to accept them as allies.

Much earlier in Iraq there was the scandal of ill treatment of Iraqi prisoners---even sexual abuse by US male and female soldiers. Even dogs were used and the sole purpose was humiliation of the enemy when he could not retaliate. Iraqis will not forget. Similar abuses and torture have been reported in detention centers in Afghanistan. President Karzai has been forced to publicly condemn the infamous night raids on Afghan households where not even women and children are spared. Karzai has also acted against the US contractors who are drawn from the ranks of jobless veterans and are truly at the bottom of the food chain in their homeland. These agents have no ethics or morals and are trigger happy killers as the Raymond Davis affair indicated to the whole world. Guantanamo is too well known to comment upon and now there is the new US law under which people can be detained indefinitely on suspicion of terrorism.

Some concerned quarters are now raising concerns over the large numbers of Iraqis and Afghans killed in the US war on terror. US statistics only tally American deaths---there are no statistics on others killed and maimed. The effect on US servicemen is however extreme as is evident from the large numbers suffering from post trauma stress disorder-a euphemism for the reaction from brutalities seen and carried out. As more troops head home the violence in the 'homeland' is sure to increase and will be directed at the most vulnerable segment of society. In the countries where the US has operated a backlash of hatred is already evident making new US allies like India wary and careful how far they go in an embrace that always betrays. An article in the NY Times Jan 15 details the post US reaction in Iraq against US contractors.

ISI Cleared In Journalists Murder Probe

ZoneAsia-Pk

The secretary of the Saleem Shehzad Commission on Tuesday presented its probe report to Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on the mysterious murder of the journalist, giving a clean chit to the country's security agencies, including the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Saleem Shehzad was an investigative journalist who had claimed of receiving life threats and pointed fingers at the country's security agencies, especially the ISI, only a few days before his murder.

A source privy to the details said the 140-page report had recommended the prime minister make the report public. "The commission found no involvement of any security agency, including the ISI, in the killing of the journalist. Moreover, none of the journalists interviewed gave any evidence or shared information about the involvement of agencies. No one even blamed any intelligence agency of involvement," added the source. However, the source said the commission directed the intelligence agencies to streamline their working vis-à-vis media and maintain proper record of their interactions with journalists.

The commission further directed the Islamabad and Punjab police departments to continue their respective investigation process to identify the perpetrators of the crime. The commission further asked the government to pay compensation amount to the family of the slain journalist and also cater for the educational needs of his children. "Though the commission was given six weeks to compile its report, it took six months to finalise the probe due to the sensitive nature of the matter. During the period, the commission recorded interviews of 41 individuals that have been made a part of the report," the source said.

Oil prices drop as situation in Europe and Iran worsen

Tacstrat

Oil fell for a third day in New York as bets that Europe's debt crisis will worsen and curb fuel demand countered concern that tension with Iran may disrupt Middle East crude exports.

Futures declined as much as 0.5 per cent before German and French leaders meet in Berlin today as they seek to craft a plan for rescuing the euro over the next three months. The US will act to reopen the Strait of Hormuz if Iran blocks the channel, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman General Martin Dempsey said in an interview on the CBS "Face the Nation" program yesterday. Brent oil's premium to West Texas Intermediate crude rose to the highest in almost two months.

"It's a matter of two factors for the market," said Ric Spooner, a chief analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney. "We have concerns about potentially significantly reduced economic activity emanating from Europe, and Iran. Any potential disruptions have to be taken seriously because it won't take much to put us into a supply problem."

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Crude for February delivery slipped as much as 46 cents to $US101.10 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $US101.26. The contract fell 0.3 per cent to $US101.56 on Jan. 6, the lowest close since Dec. 30.

Brent oil for February settlement was at $US113.17 a barrel, up 11 cents, on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European benchmark contract's premium to WTI was at $US11.91, the highest gap based on closing prices since Nov. 15. The difference rose to a record $US27.88 on Oct. 14 as the uprising in Libya curbed supplies of light, sweet crude.

Berlin meeting

"Oil prices have been volatile, caught between a weakening Europe and tensions around a key supply route," Sharon Zollner, senior economist at ANZ in Wellington, said in a note today.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy will meet in Berlin to flesh out a new rulebook for fiscal discipline negotiated at a Dec. 9 summit. Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria and Germany plan to sell bonds this week, offering a gauge of market confidence. Spanish 10- year yields rose by the most in almost 17 years last week.

Factory orders in Germany, Europe's largest economy, dropped the most in almost three years in November. Orders, adjusted for seasonal swings and inflation, slipped 4.8 per cent from October, the Economy Ministry in Berlin said Jan. 6. That's the biggest drop since January 2009.

Strait of Hormuz

Iran has the ability to block the Strait of Hormuz, a transit route for a fifth of the world's oil, "for a period of time," according to Dempsey. The US tightened economic sanctions against the Persian Gulf nation over its nuclear program on Dec. 31 and the European Union is weighing a ban later this month on purchases of Iranian crude.

A pipeline that would allow oil from the United Arab Emirates to bypass the Strait of Hormuz separating it from Iran has been delayed because of construction difficulties, two people with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The 1.5 million barrels-a-day link would ensure the U.A.E. can export crude without risking a blockade at the channel.

The $US3.3 billion project won't be ready until at least April, one of the people said. Abu Dhabi, holder of most of the UAE's oil reserves, had planned to start exports in January 2011 through the pipeline to a port outside the strait, Dieter Blauberg, the project's former director, said in May 2009.

Hedge funds increased bullish positions 4.1 per cent in the week ended Jan. 3, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Commitments of Traders report. Open interest advanced 3.5 per cent, rising for a second week after falling in December to the lowest since May 2007, according to the CFTC

Cuts in military budget for US will not change World’s #1 ranking

ZoneAsia-Pk

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta cautioned global rivals on Sunday not to misjudge U.S. plans to slash military spending over the next decade, saying America would still field the world's strongest military and nobody should "mess with that."


Panetta, speaking on CBS's "Face the Nation" ahead of Tuesday's New Hampshire primary, also reminded Republican presidential contenders who have criticized the Pentagon's new military strategy that the decision to cut $487 billion in defense spending was made by a bipartisan Congress.

Some Republicans have expressed concerns about the cuts and their impact. Leading Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney charged that President Barack Obama's new military strategy unveiled this week was "inexcusable and unthinkable" because it would reduce U.S. global military capability.

The new strategy, which is meant to guide defense spending over the next decade as the military cuts back, calls for greater emphasis on Asia even as the Army and Marines shrink to become smaller and more agile forces.

"I think this country has to deal with the reality of the situation that we're confronting," Panetta said in a pre-recorded interview. "We're coming out of a decade of war. We're facing a huge budget crisis in this country. The Congress said ... we have to reduce the defense budget by $487 billion."

General Martin Dempsey, the top U.S. military officer as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told "Face the Nation" he worried that some countries might misunderstand the debate Americans are having over changing strategy and the need to cut defense spending.

"There may be some around the world who see us as a nation in decline, and worse, as a military in decline. And nothing could be further from the truth," Dempsey said.

He said such a miscalculation could be "troublesome" in dealing with countries like Iran or North Korea but it could also cause close friends to wonder if the United States would continue to be a consistent ally.

"What I'd like to say right now is we're the same partner we've always been, and intend to remain that way," Dempsey said.

Panetta said U.S. rivals should not misunderstand the situation.

"I think the message that the world needs to understand is: America is the strongest military power and we intend to remain the strongest military power and nobody ought to mess with that," he said.

Asked whether it would be difficult to take out Iran's nuclear capability, Dempsey said it was his job to plan and understand the risks associated with any military option and "all those activities are going on."

Pressed on whether the United States could take out Iran's nuclear sites without using nuclear weapons, Dempsey would only say: "I absolutely want them to believe that that's the case."

"They need to know that ... if they take that step, they are going to get stopped," Panetta added. The United States is concerned that Iran's nuclear program is aimed at producing a weapon, but Tehran insists it is for peaceful energy production.

Obama and Congress agreed in August to cut some $487 billion in defense spending over the next decade as part of efforts to bring of the nation's $14 trillion debt under control.

Defense spending could be cut by another $600 billion as part of the August spending deal unless Congress compromises on an alternative. Congress missed the deadline for reaching an agreement but could still take action to override the cuts before they are due to go into force next year.

Obama, in unveiling the new defense strategy at a Pentagon news conference on Thursday, noted that even with the $487 trillion in cuts to projected spending, the defense budget would continue to grow in nominal terms.

He also said the U.S. defense budget would still be by far the world's largest - roughly the size of the 10 next-biggest defense budgets combined.

If the second round of defense cuts takes place, the Pentagon's base budget would fall to roughly $472 billion in fiscal 2013 - about the level of fiscal 2007 in inflation-adjusted dollars, according to an analysis by Todd Harrison of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.

That represents a real cut of about 11 percent. It would remain at roughly the same level for about eight years, growing only at about the pace of inflation, Harrison's analysis said.

Panetta told National Public Radio on Sunday the Pentagon was not ready for cuts of that magnitude.

"If we had to do over a trillion dollars in cuts in this department, I have to tell you that the strategy that we developed, we'd probably have to throw that out the window and start over," he said.

Obama campaign adviser David Axelrod downplayed the likelihood that the second round of cuts would actually occur, telling ABC's "This Week" program "we expect we're going to deal with that ... during the course of this year."

Saudi brothers have declined Pak request for oil on credit

All rhetoric of brotherhood notwithstanding, two 'friendly' Arab countries have refused to supply oil to Pakistan on long-term credit.

Plagued by circular debt, and faced with high international oil prices, Pakistan had requested Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to extend their credit term for oil payments.

During his two-day visit in August last year, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani had requested Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz to either restore 'free oil facility' or extend the credit term for oil payment from the existing 30 days to one-year.

Saudi Arabia had granted Pakistan a 'free oil facility' in 1998, in the aftermath of the nuclear tests and subsequent economic sanctions from the United States and Europe.

"Saudi Arabia has turned down Pakistan's request on grounds that since it exports oil to other countries, they may demand similar treatment," said sources, quoting Saudi officials.

Saudi authorities also said that oil export is a commercial business for them and they would offer Pakistan the same terms that are offered to other countries, sources added.

Pakistan had also requested Kuwait to extend its credit terms for oil payments to six months, from the current two-month deferral period.

A formal request in this regard was made during President Asif Ali Zardari's visit to Kuwait on May 7, 2011. At that time, Kuwait said it would discuss the matter with concerned authorities and let Pakistan know later.

Kuwait is the only country that supplies oil to Pakistan on a two-month deferred payment plan, an arrangement secured during the 2008 financial crisis. Other Middle Eastern countries, including Saudi Arabia, export oil on 30-day credit term.

When contacted, however, Petroleum Minister Dr Asim Hussain said he had no knowledge of such requests.

Earlier, Iran had been supplying 45,000 barrels of crude oil to Pakistan on a three-month deferred payment plan until January 2011. UN-imposed sanctions, however, brought a halt to these due to difficulties in opening Letter of Credits from global banks for oil imports from Iran.

Since then, Iranian oil is largely smuggled to Pakistan. Officials say people of Baluchistan meet most of their requirements with smuggled oil.

Cash crunch at PSO

With almost Rs200 billion due to pay local and international fuel suppliers as of January 6, 2012, the largest public sector oil marketing company, Pakistan State Oil (PSO), is in dire straits.

Of that amount, PSO owes almost Rs114 billion to international fuel suppliers, including Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC). "PSO is facing an emergency-like situation and has no money to pay for oil supplies," sources said.

"The situation has been aggravated due to nonpayment of dues by power sector and some other clients; PSO's receivables have piled up to Rs185.2 billion," sources added.

The company is mainly dependent on oil imports since oil refineries in the country are operating at 70% capacity due to circular debt, sources added.

Siraiki Suba divides Punjab Assembly

As the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and its allies plan to table a bill on the creation of a Seraiki province in the next National Assembly session, the situation in the Punjab Assembly (PA) remains uncertain, with legislators from both sides of the divide staying strongly aligned to their party affiliations.

For a bill to succeed in the Punjab Assembly, it has to have a bipartisan consensus and must include the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) which holds the lion's share of seats in the house.

The PML-N's position on the Seraiki province is that the new unit must be based on administrative requirements, instead of ethnic or linguistic factors. The PML-N is not eager to embrace the Seraiki cause mainly out of suspicion that the PPP is using it as a political ploy to retain its vote bank in south Punjab while eroding its own political appeal in the province. The reason is clear: the party draws its power from central and northern Punjab and would not like to see its sphere of influence shrunk to one-third once a Seraiki province is carved out.

However, there are signs that if a resolution or a bill is taken to the voting stage in the Punjab Assembly, it will be very difficult for members of south Punjab to vote against the aspiration of their constituents. "Though I am tied to my party policy on the province in south Punjab, I definitely feel that not returning the state of Bahawalpur to the Bahawalpur people would be a grave injustice," said Haji Zulfiqar, a PML-N legislator from Bahawalpur.

"Compared to the Seraiki province, a separate province for Bahawalpur is a more just cause and it is not all that difficult as the state of Bahawalpur, annexed by Pakistan in the early sixties, can be returned to its people through an executive order," said Zulfiqar, whose party baulks at the idea of a Bahawalpur province.

The PML-N's Mohsin Leghari, who is a vocal force behind the Seraiki province, says he did not see a problem with a bill or a resolution for the Seraiki province being presented in the National Assembly. "Actually, it has to start from the National Assembly after the amendment in the constitution in 1985. A province containing Multan, DG Khan and Bahawalpur divisions has to be carved out as it makes administrative, economic and political sense," Leghari said.

However, the PPP's constitutional wizard Senator Raza Rabbani has warned against starting the amendment process from the National Assembly. Addressing the media on Friday, Rabbani said that the process should start from the concerned provincial assembly otherwise it would look like a centrist attempt. "My party and I support the constitutional position on this," Leghari said.

Article 239, clause 4 reads "A bill to amend the constitution which would have the effect of altering the limits of a province shall not be presented to the president for assent unless it has been passed by the provincial assembly of that province by votes of not less than two-thirds of its total membership."

PPP's senior member of the provincial assembly Nazim Hussain Shah said that the Seraiki province is a reality, and historically, areas inhabited by Seraikis had been an administrative unit. "We want our own province at all costs - even if we have to go to civil war for it. We know that we don't have a two-thirds majority in the assembly, but how would a Seraiki member oppose the resolution or a bill on the province?" Shah said.

So far, Punjab Assembly Speaker Rana Iqbal has held off all attempts by Seraiki members to bring a resolution in the house, pitting Seraiki members against the PML-N.

During the last session, members belonging to Seraiki areas frequently huddled together in meetings to evolve a bipartisan consensus on the issue.

Blochistan enters third day without gas

As temperatures continue to plummet in Balochistan, gas supply remained suspended for the third consecutive day in the province on Sunday causing serious inconvenience to people.

Despite repeated claims by officials of the Sui Southern Gas Company that supply will be restored within hours, residents in provincial capital Quetta kept waiting for gas supply.

Supply to Quetta, Kalat, Mastung, Pishin, Ziarat and other districts was suspended about three days ago after an 18-inch gas pipeline was blown up twice near the troubled Dera Bugti region. But despite the lapse of three days, the damaged pipeline has not been repaired.

According to an SSGC official, repair work has begun after receiving the security clearance. He claimed that the pipeline will take a few hours for repair.

Quetta's residents, meanwhile, faced great difficulty in going about normal activities, including cooking food. "Every winter we face this problem when gas is desperately needed," said a despairing resident Muhammad Babar. Most people went to work without even having breakfast and long queues were seen outside bread shops, he said.